Trying to Help
by Dragonmaster Dyne
Summary: Stupid Moonbay/Fiona shoujo-ai/yuri fluff. Read if ya want.


Disclaimer – I do not own Zoids. And after reading this story, you might be glad I don't. ^^*

WARNING: The characters here might act a bit OOC. I'm trying not to, but I have a hard time grasping how a few characters act so please forgive me if they act OOC. Also, there are a few Japanese phrases in here. Not much, but a few. Lastly, you are about to be subjected to my crappy writing skills. Read at your own risk.

Moonbay sighed as her fingers glided across the Gustav's surface. The sling constricted itself on her arm, causing it to throb with pain every now and then. She found herself wincing once every hour. The image of her injury was still clear in her head.

It happened two days ago. She had been piloting her Gustav, carrying cargo and humming her little song, like it was any other day.

Then she saw it.

Right in front of her eyes, stood a Genosaurer, proud and tall. Moonbay didn't have time to scream. The Zoid's mouth opened and out shot it's Particle Beam.

It was nothing but blurs and flashes after that. 

She woke up to Van's face, carrying her into the Blade Liger. Her Gustav was totaled and cuts and bruises were all over her body.

Her right arm was also broken. It's amazing she survived.

"You're going to be okay," Van whispered to her. She clocked out after that.

Now she had her right arm in a sling. Her Gustav had been repaired and was fully functional. She was surprised by how fast the Zoid mechanics in the Guardian Force base had fixed it. But she wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. And she had often been taking her anger out on other people getting into unnecessary verbal fights, especially with Irvine. "What a bitch," he would constantly mutter.

She couldn't have felt any crappier.

"Hello, Moonbay!" greeted a cheerful voice. She turned around and smiled. It was her favorite bright blond girl and best friend, Fiona. Seeing Fiona's radiant smile could brighten anyone's day, no matter how tough the day had been.

"Hey, girl," Moonbay greeted as she walked up to her. She must've walked too fast because her arm began throbbing with pain again. She flinched and put her free hand over it.

"Still hurts," Fiona stated, folding one arm and resting her other elbow on it while her chin rested on the knuckle of her index finger. Moonbay wanted to say something sarcastic, but Fiona cut her off.

"Why don't we go into the commissary and get some drinks. You look like you could use it." She grabbed Moonbay's free hand and led her out of the hangar.

"I don't know. I'm not really thirsty," Moonbay protested.

"Oh don't be such a miser. You're becoming worse than Irvine," Fiona joked. Moonbay laughed a little. Well if it'd make her happy and shut up, she might as well.

As soon as they had exited the hangar, Van stopped them. He looked urgent.

"Where are you girls off to?" he asked.

"Why do you wanna know? You're not our babysitter," Moonbay said. Van flinched at the hostility.

"We're just going to--" Fiona began but was quickly cut off.

"Sorry, Moonbay, but you're going to have to go back on the road again," Van interrupted. Moonbay blinked.

"What? But why?"

"Dr. D needs to transport some materials to the Aerials Base ASAP. You're the only free transporter we've got. You gotta go," Van said.

"I can't go. Not in this condition," Moonbay protested, pointing to her sling. Van shook his head.

"This is really important, Moonbay. We can't afford to miss this," Van said, keeping his foothold. Moonbay sighed. Fiona had an idea.

"Van, what if I do it?" she asked. Van shook his head.

"I don't know how good you are with Gustavs, Fiona, and now really isn't the time to find out."

"I've piloted Zoids before Van. Besides, if Moonbay comes with me she can make sure I don't mess up."

Van thought for a minute. "What do you think, Moonbay?"

"I'm not so sure. I don't feel comfortable with other people piloting my Gustav," she said. Fiona intertwined her fingers and gave her best "puppy-dog-eyes."

"Pleeeeeaaase, Moonbay? I want to help out in any way I can."

Moonbay smiled. Fiona wasn't that immature, but she knew that it was a surefire way of making sure "no" was never said to her. Worked on Thomas every time.

"Oh all right you big baby," Moonbay said, "As long as you don't get us in trouble along the way."

"Don't worry, Moonbay. Everything will be A-OK," Fiona assured.

"It'd better. This is really important," Van said, winking at Fiona. Fiona made a "V" sign with her index and middle fingers and returned a smile. Moonbay rolled her eyes.

"Let's just get it over with."

~~~~~~~~

"So, where exactly is this Aerials Base, anyway?" Moonbay asked once they were out on the road. Moonbay was in the passenger seat while Fiona piloted. She was actually pretty good at it despite Moonbay's doubts. But Fiona had proven time and again that she was very smart and very resourceful so she had no idea why she doubted her in the first place. She remembered when Van told her about the time he and Thomas were busting these malefactors. Fiona tried to help out by busting in Rambo-style, riding on Zeke, both with a full arsenal to boot. The mission kind of got screwed up from there, but Van was able to laugh at it when it was all over. He said she looked really cute that day. She probably did, Moonbay thought.

Fiona pulled out the map Van gave her.

"It's about twenty miles north of here. It shouldn't take long," she answered.

"I hope not," Moonbay began, but the pain started to rear its ugly head again. She held onto her sling, wincing. Fiona noticed and frowned sadly, but didn't say anything. They continued on for a few more minutes in silence.

"What's in the crates, anyway?" Moonbay asked, referring to the cargo.

"Just some stuff the Aerials Base needed. Nothing really interesting, if you're wondering," Fiona answered. She looked at her friend who just stared out the window. She didn't look like she was having much fun. It pained Fiona to see her like this. She hoped what she was planning to do would make her smile return.

"Moonbay, are you hungry?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"We could stop in that town over there, if you are. Really it'd be no problem," Fiona said.

"I dunno. I'd rather just get this transport job over with," Moonbay said.

"Oh come on. Getting out would be good for you!" Fiona insisted happily, stopping the Gustav and pulling Moonbay out. Moonbay groaned. Sometimes the blonde's cheerfulness could get rather annoying.

~~~~~~~~~

Fiona had talked Moonbay into going into a café and ordered sandwiches. Fiona said that she'd be buying, which is good since Moonbay didn't have any money on her. She really appreciated everything the Zoidian was doing for her, trying to make her happy, and she tried her best to show she did. But the run-in with the Genosaurer Bandit the Guardian Force has been trying to tackle lately, plus her broken arm just wasn't working with her.

"Feel free to have as much as you want," Fiona assured her as she watched Moonbay finish her second sandwich.

"That's okay," said the brunette, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "The last thing I want to look like in front of you is a pig."

"You don't seem to worry about that at home," Fiona quipped.

"Har-har," Moonbay said sarcastically, and drank her juice. After more eating and drinking, Moonbay began to notice that Fiona had her elbows on the table and her head resting on her palms. She was staring at her.

"It isn't polite to watch someone eat," Moonbay said.

"You have beautiful eyes, Moonbay," said Fiona.

Moonbay blushed. "Um, thanks…I guess," she said nervously. This wasn't expected.

"So then, why do you make them look so sad?" Fiona continued.

"What? What are you talking about?," Moonbay asked defensively.

Fiona sighed. "Nothing. Nothing at all," she said turning away.

"Look, I'm sorry if…" Moonbay began, but was interrupted by the waitress.

"Here's your bill," she said, not even asking if they were done.

"Oh sure," said Fiona, getting out her purse…only to realize she didn't have her purse.

"Uh-oh," she said quietly.

"What is it?" Moonbay asked. Fiona's face reddened ferociously.

"Ano, it seems that I, um, don't have any money with me at all." She laughed nervously while sweatdropping bullets. Moonbay's eyes narrowed.

"You have _nothing_ on you?" she said incredulously.

"Do you take IOUs?" Fiona asked the waitress. Moonbay and the waitress collapsed anime-style.

"No we don't," said the waitress when she got back up, "If you don't have any money, then you're going to have to pay the price."

"But I just said I didn't have any money," Fiona said innocently. Moonbay collapsed anime-style, again.

"Baka!" she yelled, "She didn't mean it like that! She meant we'd have to suffer the consequences!"

"Well that's not good," Fiona said cluelessly. Moonbay groaned.  
"I'll pay for them," said a boy around Fiona's age. He handed the waitress the money and she thanked him and was on her way.

"Well that was nice of you," Fiona said, then got a clear look at him and realized who it was. "Raven?!"

He smirked.

"What do you want?" Moonbay asked defiantly.

"When you bitches are around, Van shouldn't be too far behind. Where is he?" he demanded.

"Van's not here right now. Can we take a message?" Moonbay said hotly.

"Can you?" Raven asked.

"What?" Moonbay and Fiona both said.

"Van sent me a message and he wants a response. Might as well give it to him through you two."

"Oh okay. What is it?" Fiona asked.

Raven started to blush. "Um, tell him I…"

~~~~~

"Well, that was weird," Moonbay said when they were back in the Gustav.

"Yeah, who would've thought Van would invite Raven to his birthday party?" Fiona agreed. Moonbay shrugged.

"Things have been weird since the war ended. Oh well. Let's just hurry up and finish this task."

Fiona was glad Moonbay's mind seemed to be off the recent fiasco. But she was still somewhat embarrassed. A small blush spread across her face.

Moonbay looked at her. She noticed how cute Fiona looked when she blushed.

"Relax, Fiona, I'm not mad," she assured. It was a lie of course, but she could sense how Fiona was berating herself and wanted to take some of the stress away.

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. She put the Gustav on autopilot and looked at the map. Moonbay laid back on her seat and closed her eyes. She was getting tired, and the evening sun was getting ready to set. How much longer would this take?

SMASH!

Moonbay jerked up.

"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed. Fiona gulped and tried to look cheerful.

"No problem. We're just in a ditch and the Gustav might have dealt a few damages, that's all."

"WHAT?!"

There were some dents in the Gustav. The paint was scratched. Moonbay eye started to twitch, anime-style.

"Don't worry, we can take care of this in no time," Fiona reassured.

An hour later, they managed to push the Gustav out of the ditch. It was harder than they thought.

Fiona wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"See, that wasn't too hard," she said optimistically.

"Yeah, but we better hurry up. The sun is starting to set," Moonbay said. Fiona's eyes widened.

"Oh no," she mouthed.

"What?" Moonbay asked.

"Etto, nothing! Let's just get a move on," Fiona said. The two girls got into the Gustav and were soon on the road again. Moonbay let out an exasperated sigh.

"We've been out here for five hours. How far away is this base?" she wondered. Fiona pulled out the map.

"Hmm," she said, "We should be there in…." she stopped suddenly. She looked over the map and her face turned beet red. She gulped.

"Fiona, what's wrong?" asked Moonbay innocently. Fiona let out a hesitant chuckle.

"Ano, it seems that I, uh, have been reading the map incorrectly…"

"Incorrectly?" Moonbay's face darkened. "What do you mean by 'incorrectly'?"

Before Fiona could answer, Moonbay snatched the map out of her hand. Moonbay face was flaming red in pure anger.

"Fiona," she said softly, yet with teeth clenched, "This map is upside-down."

Fiona smiled nervously. "Funny, huh?"

"Bakayero!!!" Moonbay screamed, rolling up the map and slapping it down on Fiona's head multiple times. "Idiot! We've been out here for five goddamn hours when this mission was supposed to have taken twenty minutes! Then you go and dent my Gustav by piloting it into a ditch! Look at that ditch! How the hell could you have missed that?! It's freakin' huge! Are you blind as a bat or something?! After the repairmen at the base tried so hard to repair it, too! And we nearly spent the entire afternoon washing dishes for some stupid restaurant because you forgot your money! Don't you think you should've checked first?! How dumb are you?! Why the hell do I put up with you?!" Moonbay turned her head away from the blonde in a huff. "Take me home, Fiona. I don't want to have to deal with you or this crapfest any longer."

Fiona didn't say anything. She just did what she was told and turned the Zoid around. Moonbay, still angry, thought of another thing to yell at her about. She looked over at Fiona and opened her mouth. No words came out. Instead her eyes focused on Fiona's eyes. And how tears were coming from the, sliding down her white cheeks and falling to the floor.

"Oh, lord," she whispered. She made Fiona, the sweetest and most caring person she had ever known, cry. She made her cry. And it hurt.

She had blown up at a lot of people the past few days, but none of them ever cried. Most of them just walked away, angry with themselves for crossing her path. But to the point where they cried silent tears? Why would they? They understood that she was moody, right?

"Fiona, I…" Moonbay begun softly.

"It's okay, Moonbay. You don't need to explain. I didn't know that's how you really felt about me," she said, wiping her eyes.

_Damn it_, Moonbay thought,_ I must've torn out her heart out and smashed it with my foot._

"That's not how I really feel about you. You know that," Moonbay consoled.

"Then why did you say those nasty things? That really hurt, especially coming from you. I'd rather die than go through the rest of my life with you hating me," Fiona said, the last part coming out as a croak.

Moonbay looked down. She had broken one of the people she loved most. _The_ person she loved most. Fiona may have bungled up, but her intentions were pure. Out of pure love for her friend.

"I don't hate you," she said gently, "I love…I…love what you have done for me. And…"

_Shoot, why is it becoming so hard to say?_ Moonbay thought. Fiona _needed_ to hear this, right? She needed to tell her how she really felt.

"…And I love you, Fiona. I didn't mean all that stuff I said. Why would I say that to the one person I love the most?"

Fiona's tears stopped. Her deep red eyes directly met Moonbay's chocolate brown. All of a sudden, Moonbay became uncharacteristically timid.

"Do you really feel that way?" Fiona asked in the softest tone. Moonbay gulped. She wasn't ready for this. Time to cover it up.

"Y'know, as a friend. I love spending time with you. You're the best friend I could ask for. I feel I can talk to you about anything."

"Not everything," Fiona said slyly and smiling.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Moonbay asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Fiona teased, "We've got to hurry, though. We might miss it."

"Miss what?"

"You'll see."

Moonbay didn't understand what Fiona's cryptic words meant, but it didn't take long at all. The Gustav moved again and they reached a grassy knoll way out into the Nirvana Grasslands.

"What are we doing way out here?" asked Moonbay.

Fiona opened the cockpit and jumped out. She ushered Moonbay to follow her. The brunette followed her way out into the field until they reached the knoll. There were many surprising visions of beauty at this place. Not only did it have a great view of New Helic City below them, but many Sapphire flowers grew in the area. These beautiful blue flowers were Moonbay's favorite kind. Finally, there was what many people said about the Nirvana Grasslands: it was the perfect place in all of Zi to watch the sunset.

Fiona sat on the hill and looked back at her friend. She patted the seat beside her, inviting Moonbay to sit next to her.

"What is all this about?" asked Moonbay as she sat down next to her. Fiona picked a Sapphire Flower out of the ground and twirled it with her fingers.

"Well," Fiona answered, "You looked like you needed it. You were being real crabby around the base lately. I wanted to bring you here to help you feel better."

"But what about the materials we had to transport?" Moonbay asked.

"There are no materials. I asked Van to give you this fake mission so we could have an excuse to come here."

"What the? You sly little…" Moonbay said, but she wasn't mad. She was actually smiling. A genuine smile she hadn't done in a long time. Fiona returned the smile. Then gently, she placed the Sapphire Flower affectionately into Moonbay's hair. They both blushed. They both looked up at the sky and watched the stunning sunset. Moonbay's left hand slid into Fiona's right hand. They squeezed each other, lovingly.

"It looks good on ya," Fiona commented.

"What, this flower or the sunset?" Moonbay asked.

"Both," Fiona said, looking at her. "Oh and by the way, Moonbay…"

She brought her lips closer to hers and kissed her, catching Moonbay totally off guard. But, hey, she liked it. Fiona broke the kiss and whispered to Moonbay's ear "…I love you, too."

O w a r i

Japanese dictionary:

Baka/Bakayero: Stupid!/Idiot!

Ano, etto: hesitation words. Equivalent to English's "um, eh, uh…"

Owari: End

Hope you enjoyed. Constructive criticism only! Or flame me if you really want to keep me warm for the winter.


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